Yoyobon's bear incident and a book about such things

last year

last modified: last year

I happened to listen to a Fresh Air* podcast this morning that was an interview with author Mary Roach about her book Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law. As I listened, Yoyobon's recent bear encounter was on my mind the entire time. The book sounds fascinating. I shall have to read it soon. It addresses encounters between humans and other species, such as bears, monkeys and elephants.

A link to the podcast: A Weird World of Animal 'Crime'

*Fresh Air, for those not familiar, is a daily one-hour radio show that is broadcast on weekdays by the U.S.'s National Public Radio stations. It features Terry Gross, a renowned radio host, who interviews all sorts of interesting people. The link above is from the Fresh Air Archives.

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yoyobon_gw

last year

As I look back on this month-old experience I am thankful that it happened exactly how it did. If I had been on the main floor when the bear entered, and if I had met him in the hallway as he was coming through I'm fairly certain I would have dropped dead from shock. As it was, seeing the pushed in screen door I had a feeling some sort of animal like a raccoon might be in the house and my coming upon the bear from a distance gave me some slight protection from an out-and-out panic attack.

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yoyobon_gw
last year
last modified: last year
The tale continues..........

I had an appt. with my tax lady yesterday......and thought I'd regale her with my bear story.She greets me with " You won't believe the summer I had." and I said " Well, Gerri, I'll put $5 on the table, you match it and whoever's story is the best gets it all !! And I guarantee I'll be $10 richer !! "

I tell my bear story......ready to back it up with my massage therapist's tale of her 17 year old daughter alone at their house, out on the patio, reclining on a lounge chair , holding a book up reading it. She hears a "harummmph, harummph! " , slowly lowers the book a bit to gaze over the top of it and is looking right at a bear staring at her ! She was paralyzed with terror, doesn't move a muscle, the bear approached the chaise, walked around it and brushed her feet as it walked off . She slowly reached for her phone and took videos of it's exit past her.

I figure between the two stories , I've got the $10 !

Yeah.....well.....

Gerri ( the tax lady ) proceeds to tell me that they bought a house this summer. She was moving in when she hears a noisy , rustling sound that scares her.

A critter ???

So she runs out and calls for her husband who goes in and discovers a 4' long boa constrictor slithering around inside the house !!!They exit the house , frantic .......call the DEC who arranges for someone to catch the thing and "snake-proof" the house.

Okay........apparently the previous owner had the boa constrictor as a pet ( one that can kill you ) and it got loose and disappeared six months ago. He assumed it had left the house and was gone off into the sunset. Instead, it installed itself inside the house somehow where he never saw it again. He moves and with the house vacated, the boa constrictor surfaces and takes over the house.....happily alone.

They asked the owner why he didn't disclose this fact ??? He said he thought the thing was gone....after six months of not seeing it.Her only concern now is......was there a "nest"......are there more ??(I'd look for another house.)

SO......I guess I'd rather see a bear , however horrible that is, than to find a boa constrictor in my home.

She wins the pot , hands down !
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kathy_t
Original Author
last year
Oh My God! I agree that the boa constrictor story is worse. It's making me glance into the corners of my study as I type this reply. At least you can detect the presence of a bear!

By the way, I started reading the book, Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law, and found I just didn't care to stick with it. I only read maybe a third of it. It turns out I didn't really want to know how you can tell a bear attack from a bobcat attack by examining the human corpse. That was just a bit too detailed for me. I'll leave that to the professionals.
annpanagain
last year
Yoyo, actually $5 better off surely as one fiver was your own!

It is waking snakes time now here but I only have a sunbaking blue tongued goanna to watch out for under the clothes line. They have a very baleful warning look in their eyes.
kathy_t
Original Author
last year
Annpan - "a very baleful warning look in their eyes"

That's the best description of a snake I've ever read.
yoyobon_gw
last year
Yep....that pretty much says it all ! Snakes.....nope, nope, nope.

adjective
1. Portending evil; ominous.
2. Harmful or malignant in intent or effect.
3. Full of deadly or pernicious influence; destructive.
annpanagain
last year
last modified: last year
I was really referring to the goanna in my garden who has the baleful look but snakes are scary too! Luckily we don't seem to have any here. Possibly the nesting magpies keep them away, I have seen them scare off rats by swooping around them.

I mistakenly called my goanna a blue tongue earlier but it is a bobtail, they don't attack but would bite if I trod on it!
kathy_t
Original Author
last year
Annpan - I was guessing a goanna was a snake - one of the many different scary snakes I imagine to be in Australia.
annpanagain
last year
Kathy, I hesitated to correct you but then decided that you would rather know what a goanna was! I am not clever about sending a picture but I expect you can find one online.

We do have some very dangerous snakes and when I lived in a country area my cat who loved to hunt proudly brought indoors some babies from a dugite nest. Dugites are venomous so I was glad he left the mother!
yoyobon_gw
last year
In my world this is a snake with legs !!
kathy_t
Original Author
last year
Annpan and Yoyobon - Thanks for the goanna education. Still never too late to learn something new!
annpanagain
last year
Bobtails don't have all that much tail, hence the name!
vee_new
last year
Our neighbour's daughter ( an animal lover) keeps a pet green snake in her bedroom and feeds it on mice! Although it isn't venomous no-one will go in there. They also have a menagerie of rabbits, guinea pigs, gerbils, dog, cats etc that cost more to feed than the entire human family . . . and the vet's bills are astronomical.
annpanagain
last year
I know about all that , Vee!

We had a lot of dogs and puppies so bought cartons of dog food, sacks of kibble and also got a basket of damaged eggs from a farm for the pregnant female. There was food needed for the cats too.

Then a small bag of groceries for the humans! Just as well we both worked...
msmeow
last year
Bon, we love our lizards down here in Florida! But I'm with you on snakes - nope, nope, nope!

Donna
sheri_z6
last year
I had visitors this afternoon. This mama and her cubs were at the house across the street from me. (I was safely in my car for the photo.) I live in a busy, inner-ring suburb, though my neighborhood is a bit spread out and wooded. They are oblivious to the traffic and the people. I'm pretty sure they were eating acorns as they looked like they were grazing. Just gobsmacking.
yoyobon_gw
last year
last modified: last year
Keep your doors closed.......and mind your windows as well. It's "fattening up" time before November and bears will do whatever it takes. A mama + cubs = dangerous.

I live in a suburb as well.
ginny12
last year
Not far from me, a couple of days ago, a bear came into a suburban yard and killed the owner's two goats, eating part of them. The next morning, the bear retuned for the chickens but the homeowner shot and killed it which is legal in my state if a bear is destroying livestock or property. The animals were fenced in but I guess that's no use with a bear. There is a controversy about shooting the bear, with most against it, tho the homeowner had called the wildlife service with no response. Personally, I think it was sad but justified.
yoyobon_gw
last year
I believe if it is killing your animals you have the right to destroy it. It was sad for the goats and chickens for sure . Not sure any law would prevent you from protecting your animals.

Yoyobon's bear incident and a book about such things

yoyobon_gw

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